I just moved to Texas and am currently setting up my new office. It’s a large room with plenty of light, modern and airy. Having enough wall space is crucial to me since I work with Post-Its a lot. I also have a massive whiteboard for brainstorming, a treadmill so I can walk while I write (yes, it truly works), and a comfy chair in the corner by the window for thinking thinky thoughts. We are first introduced to Ada, a widowed midwife who had been forsaken by her people for being unable to give her late husband children. The world she lives in is one surrounded by death and wandering corpses due to a curse created by the King of Flesh and Bone. Due to a misfortunate event involving a wayward mule ends up dragging her into the Pale Court at the feet of the King of Flesh and Bone himself. She finds herself his captive and spends much of this book plotting the best way to escape her eternal binds to him. Few know this, but I’m from Germany and traditionally published books there many years ago. When I finally felt brave enough to publish in English, going indie was a no-brainer to me. I enjoy having full control over the content of my books, especially when it comes to stories written under Liv Zander. I promised myself that Liv would write whatever she wants whenever she wants to. No compromises. No doubts. Trad publishers would pull their hair out if they needed to deal with that attitude. Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence Is there questionable behavior by the MMC, and does the author eventually tell you why he's behaving that way and what is driving him... absolutely! This wouldn't be a dark romance if he just fell all over himself for a woman he found charming.

None. Weather and I are not on good terms. Whatever you would call the season inside my office. That’s my favorite.Liv has an unhealthy love for sexy villains. To cure herself of her poor choice in men, she’s currently undergoing therapy, but who can afford that these days? To fund her co-pays, she’s writing deliciously dark fantasy romance about the men who would burn the world to the ground for their women. Is that counter-productive? Probably, but it’s also a lot of fun. world was. interesting but i still wanted more answers as to why the king didn't follow his duty, and the answers we got felt unsatisfying Next, let’s introduce whiplash and move from undead to non-consensual filth… (clarification on that below if you’re curious). Initially, the profanity was so widespread that I wondered if it should have been classified as erotic, but the plot moves on. Liv Zander’s King of Flesh and Bone certainly walks the line between thrilling and triggering for me, but she weaves an incredibly rich dark fantasy romance that kept me listening to the audiobook until the end. I was entirely tangled up in the story of Ada and Enosh: her determination to stay true as it is overwhelmed by his possessiveness, his questionable nearly non existent morals, and each carrying their own pasts.

I love how dark and forlorn it is, allowing my gory and macabre side to come out and play a little. The reason I can still enjoy the book is probably that the rape scenes aren't truly fleshed out - we get the mechanics, we don't get a lot of description of how it feels (beyond "my ass still hurts") or the fallout (ie. how does Ada feel afterwards, what physical and mental effects are there). This doesn't diminish what happens, of course, but it does make it much easier to focus on the slow process of her seeing more of him and gaining some understanding. (Fwiw, the worst part for me was her reaction to him "twisting" her legs - so much more palpable, and gave me more of a visceral reaction).Euphoria. The people are so gloriously messed up in that show, it’s such a delight to love and hate them in a constant pendulum. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Auri Alden and Gregory Salinas, via NetGalley. An advanced reader's copy of this audiobook was provided to me via NetGalley by Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review. Below are the worlds this author has built around these two characters. The details of both worlds are so incredibly vivid that you can easily imagine each element. When she’s not joking around, she can be found procrastinating in her office with a mug of coffee or a glass of wine (depending on time of day and how miserable the writing is going). Oh, she also loves skulls. And ravens. And skulls.

Truth be told, I don’t give self-care enough time. But when I do, I usually seek out silence. Nothing refreshes me more than a drive in the car, or an hour away from the loud noises of my personal life. Enosh, the king of flesh and bone, an eternal god who refuses to do his duty. He is an evil, arrogant, cruel, manipulative and ruthless man. Enosh may seem cold and ruthless, but he is very lonely, hurt, and heartbroken. Does it take possessiveness and obsession to a whole new level? Hey! Did she adore him for all the mean or naughty things he did? Absolutely! First of all, the characters blew me away! Especially Enos. He’s the bad boy that every woman fears but secretly fantasizes about. He is by no means a good guy, as he will demonstrate at the beginning of the book. Ada is a fighter, brave and unaware of her true worth.Be advised that this story is about a villain. Not a hero. There is no redemption. There is no good. Just a dark and distorted god and a lot of smut (including quite a bit of peach play, in case you were interested). SpoilerThe villain has a strong disdain for the living, with a complicated past involving another human woman. So much so that he has isolated himself in the Pale Court. When Ada is dragged into his presence, he takes this disdain out on her in the form of nonconsensual sexual punishment, as he strongly desires her warmth. The entirety of their relationship is nonconsensual sex - where he not only physically forces her into acts, but also uses his abilities to force her flesh and bone to comply with his demands. Towards the end of the book, Ada begins to feel conflicted by her body's arousal response to these acts and distorts this natural bodily response to assault for real building emotions of affection towards the King. This portrayal of a traumatic response as affection did not sit well with me and played a large role in me wanting to hate this book. As a full-time author and homeschooling mother of 2 young boys, I don’t have much free time. When I do, I love to go to the museum, try out new recipes, or sit in my chair in my office to daydream.

Every sentence I write goes through at least three rounds of edits before I actually type it. For a long time, I listened to all the advice out there, trying to push myself to write a first draft. In the end, I had to accept that I’m not that type of writer. I don’t write fast, but what I write requires little to no editing and almost never any revising. This is a really hard one to review. It is dark, like all the CWs apply here. It does contain sexual assault and rape in pretty much all its forms. And yes, I agree with another review that it really reminds me of Laura Thalassa's Pestilence as well. Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Torture, Vomit, Alcohol, Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and Toxic relationship Eventually it ends with a cliff that could make you propel objects with telepathic rage. Fortunately, the second book is now out and it works exceptionally well with Ada’s transformation, keeping you engaged with the twisted, macabre and taboo. Ada has encountered many difficulties and sufferings in her world. As a midwife, she gives birth for other women, but does not have one of her own. Up until his death, Ada’s husband, John, was an abusive adulterer who blamed Ada for his childlessness. Now he was dead, and since she feels that she has failed him in life, she must not fail him in death either.Loved the world and characters. Wasn't sure about Enosh at first but I grew to love him. And Ada was a strong wilful woman and I loved the fact she never gave in. Alternate cover edition of ASIN [119]B096G8R6PS A Dark Fantasy Romance Worse than a ruthless king… is a king obsessed. Isolation, darkness, and rotting flesh, Surrounds me, suffocates me, But I am the vile ruler who controls it all. I long for warmth, Yet, all that I touch, Is cold. Then, she stumbles in to my domain, Lost and frightened, Alone and confused. And I terrify her even more. S Alternate cover edition of ASIN [120]B096G8R6PS A Dark Fantasy Romance Worse than a ruthless king… is a king obsessed. Isolation, darkness, and rotting flesh, Surrounds me, suffocates me, But I am the vile ruler who controls it all. I long for warmth, Yet, all that I touch, Is cold. Then, she stumbles in to my domain, Lost and frightened, Alone and confused. And I terrify her even more. She calls me the devil, So I show her pleasure, Like only the devil can. I am the heat that stirs her flesh, The longing that trembles her bone. She begs her body to refuse, To escape my embrace, But I am her master, The puppeteer of passion. I am the King of Flesh and Bone. Welcome to my court, little one. King of Flesh and Bone is a full-length dark fantasy novel, and book one in The Pale Court duet. The two-part story features a ruthless man, the woman who can’t escape his love, and a HEA. This world contains dark themes, violence, loss, and elements of horror some may find disturbing. What this book doesn’t contain is a hero – because villains do it better. [121]…more King of Flesh and Bone (The Pale Court, #1) by Liv Zander – eBook Details